Course Details

Cost

FREE

Upcoming Schedule

TBA

Course Provider

Coursera online courses

Coursera's online classes are designed to help students achieve mastery over
course material. Some of the best professors in the world - like neurobiology
professor and author Peggy Mason from the University of Chicago, and computer
science professor and Folding@Home director Vijay Pande - will supplement your
knowledge through video lectures. They will also provide challenging
assessments, interactive exercises during each lesson, and the opportunity to
use a mobile app to keep up with yo...

Coursera's online classes are designed to help students achieve mastery over
course material. Some of the best professors in the world - like neurobiology
professor and author Peggy Mason from the University of Chicago, and computer
science professor and Folding@Home director Vijay Pande - will supplement your
knowledge through video lectures. They will also provide challenging
assessments, interactive exercises during each lesson, and the opportunity to
use a mobile app to keep up with your coursework. Coursera also partners with
the US State Department to create “learning hubs” around the world. Students
can get internet access, take courses, and participate in weekly in-person
study groups to make learning even more collaborative. Begin your journey into
the mysteries of the human brain by taking courses in neuroscience. Learn how
to navigate the data infrastructures that multinational corporations use when
you discover the world of data analysis. Follow one of Coursera’s “Skill
Tracks”. Or try any one of its more than 560 available courses to help you
achieve your academic and professional goals.

Course Description

In this course, you will learn how to characterize the energy state of a system and the mechanisms for transferring energy from one system to another. These are the tools necessary to understand stationary and transportation power systems from small scale, like batteries, to large scale, like nuclear power plants.

instructorsCreated with Sketch.
Instructors

Instructors:
Margaret Wooldridge

schoolCreated with Sketch.
University

University:
University of Michigan

instructorsCreated with Sketch.
Instructors

Instructors:
Margaret Wooldridge

schoolCreated with Sketch.
University

University:
University of Michigan

Reviews9/10 stars

2 Reviews for Introduction to Thermodynamics: Transferring Energy from Here to There

I (engineer with > 20 years experience) have completed the course and believe
that I can give a fair and balanced review of Introduction to Thermodynamics:
Transferring Energy from Here to There (Feb2014). Pros: consists of 5-6
lectures by the instructor, each ~8-20 minutes PDF slides provided; links to
free textbooks workload only 3-6 hours per week in-video quizzes (don’t count
towards grade) interesting material; you learn a lot, including usage of steam
tables easy to not difficult for most; gentle intro homeworks (HWs) limited to
2 submissions HWs are combinations of multiple choice questions and
quantitative problems grading is 100% HW; no exam (Pro? Con?) instructor knows
her stuff signature track offered discussion forums supported well through TAs
not peer graded (not necessary) Cons: slides rather empty, the instructor
draws diagrams and equations in the videos thus you should take notes of the
lecture videos instructor did...
I (engineer with > 20 years experience) have completed the course and believe
that I can give a fair and balanced review of Introduction to Thermodynamics:
Transferring Energy from Here to There (Feb2014). Pros: consists of 5-6
lectures by the instructor, each ~8-20 minutes PDF slides provided; links to
free textbooks workload only 3-6 hours per week in-video quizzes (don’t count
towards grade) interesting material; you learn a lot, including usage of steam
tables easy to not difficult for most; gentle intro homeworks (HWs) limited to
2 submissions HWs are combinations of multiple choice questions and
quantitative problems grading is 100% HW; no exam (Pro? Con?) instructor knows
her stuff signature track offered discussion forums supported well through TAs
not peer graded (not necessary) Cons: slides rather empty, the instructor
draws diagrams and equations in the videos thus you should take notes of the
lecture videos instructor did not participate in discussion forum you can ace
the course by relying on deductive reasoning after 1st HW submission HWs
usually had 2-3 errors, but the TAs were there in time to correct Summary:
This introduction to thermodynamics is very introductory. I think that serious
high school students will do well in this course. You can easily get by
without calculus. I was expecting a bit more from the University of Michigan.
Deduct one star for that, despite the FAQ being quite clear. Discussion of
entropy is pointedly missing, but gas/liquid qualities, pressures,
temperatures, joules, kilograms, enthalpies and specific heats abound.
Conservation of energy and mass is central. Power plant analysis is
interesting. However, the “bar” (pun intended) should be raised somewhat. As
to the rather empty slides, I believe it was intentional, to get you to take
notes. It worked for me. A timed final exam should be included. If you already
have had one course in thermo, skip it. I did not, so I found it very useful
and look forward to the next level of instruction, which I’m sure won’t be as
easy. A successful Coursera course.
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Very good course. I have no background in Thermodynamics and just wanted to learn some. This I did. The special virtue of the course is the instructor working through examples and avoiding gaseous generalities. She has won teaching awards and one sees why.
Leaving out a discussion of entropy (though T-s diagrams appeared at the end) was a good idea as far as I was concerned.
I have one advantage in that I have Borgnakke & Sonntag, Fundamentals of Thermodynamics 7e so could read around topics. I have had the book a while now, but can now manage it, thanks to this course.
Only one gripe. The instructor writes on a "whiteboard" with a pen that is invisible, so its hard to be looking at the right place when she writes.